Canadian Artists – CMJ Deadline To Apply Extended Until July 9

Jul 2, 2015

This year’s edition of CMJ Music Marathon will be held in New York City from October 13-17. In its 34th year of existence, CMJ is one of the world’s most important platforms for music discovery. Held over the course of a week, CMJ presents more than 1,400 live performances across 80 of NYC’s finest nightclubs and theatres. We were there last year (marking out 8th year of attendance) and the results were impressive, to say the least. Over 2 Canadian Blast evening showcases + 2 pre-showcase networking events, 9 Canadian music companies and 10 of their Canadian artists joined our mission. They reported making 115 new contacts, 77 meetings, with 15 business deals started at CMJ 2014 (6 were finalized). Check out the full event report here.

CIMA will be returning to CMJ in 2015, and we’re planning to hold a targeted Canadian Blast showcase and networking reception (more specific details TBA). If you’re interested in showcasing, you will have to apply directly to CMJ as our showcase features approved, official CMJ Canadian acts only. Please note: we do require a business representative in attendance at all our Canadian Blast showcases.

If you’re interested, you’ve gotta move quickly – the application deadline closes on ~~June 25, 2015~~July 9, 2015: apply now!

If you’ve applied please drop CIMA’s Music Export Manager, Trisha Carter (trisha@cimamusic.ca) a line to let her know which artist you’ve applied for and who would be representing that artist should you get into CMJ.

Good luck!

Three Exciting Initiatives From Alberta Music

Jul 2, 2015

Alberta Music has announced that they’re accepting submissions for two separate export initiatives for Albertan artists:

ALBERTA FOCUS

Banff / Calgary / Edmonton / Victoria – September 2015

APPLY HERE!

Purpose: To introduce some key Albertan musical artists and industry practitioners to a handpicked delegation of industry professionals from the UK and Europe.

Method: Facilitate two 5-band showcases in the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta on Monday and Tuesday, September 14th and 15th, earlier in the week before the BreakOut West Conference begins in Victoria BC.

Expected Outcome: Albertan artists and industry will make valuable connections with their counterparts in the UK and Europe, leading to meaningful partnerships and strengthening the ties between our industries.

AMERICANA CONFERENCE & MUSIC FESTIVAL

APPLY HERE!

For four nights, September 16-19, the Americana Music Festival will feature approximately 165 live performances at over nine music venues in the vicinity of downtown Nashville.

Our 16th Annual event will take place September 15-20, 2015, gathering thousands of artists, fans and industry professionals from all over the world in Nashville, TN. With planning already underway, our 2015 Americana Music Festival & Conference promises to once again be the must-attend event for anyone who loves great music.

EDMONTON MUSIC PRIZE

LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE!

Alberta Music and the Edmonton Arts Council are pleased to announce a third commencement of the Edmonton Music Prize, a $10,000 annual cash prize to recognize an Edmonton-based musician or musical collective that has released a recording in the past 18 months. The award is sponsored by the City of Edmonton through the Edmonton Arts Council, and administered by Alberta Music.

Trailer for Steve Jobs Biopic Starring Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen

Jul 2, 2015

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

Steve Jobs is directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle and written by Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin, working from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography of the Apple founder. The producers are Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady of Film 360, Scott Rudin and Academy Award® winner Christian Colson.

Michael Fassbender plays Steve Jobs, the pioneering founder of Apple, with Academy Award®-winning actress Kate Winslet starring as Joanna Hoffman, former marketing chief of Macintosh. Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple, is played by Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels stars as former Apple CEO John Sculley. The film also stars Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, Jobs’ ex-girlfriend, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original members of the Apple Macintosh development team.

Stephen Colbert Is Guest Host of ‘Only in Monroe’, The Michigan Public Access Talk Show

Jul 2, 2015

Imagine you’re in Monroe, Michigan, and you’re flipping around the channels, and suddenly you see the greatest thing to ever appear on the cable access show – Stephen Colbert. And he interviews Eminem in the 22-minute mark. This clip proves Colbert’s genius crackled with electricity over and over.

From ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ – ‘Listen Alert’, The Device That Calls Someone Who Will Listen To Your Stories

Jul 2, 2015

A convenient new service provides someone to listen to boring stories when nobody else will.

Pete Tong in 1995 reads out his web site address for the first time. Oh. My.

Jul 2, 2015

20 years ago Pete Tong read out the web site address for his famous essential mix for the first time.. and it wasn’t that catchy. Grab a pen.

https://youtu.be/HyRklSLMqTM

The Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray On The Importance Of Infrastructure In A Band’s Career

Jul 2, 2015

“With a lot of bands, it’s very important to have infrastructure, and to have a good manager and booking agent, and people around you who are very stable, keep you on track and not let you destroy yourself in all the chaos of touring. When you talk about some bands from that era, who were absolutely genius, maybe they were taken down by addiction, bad things on the road or tragedy, where it would have been helpful to have people keep you grounded. And we’ve been lucky that way.

“Emily (Saliers) and I have always been committed to making new music, being active, having different people tour with us and getting better at what we do. And all those add up to having a longer career, having respect for it, and knowing it could go away at any minute.”

Via San Diego Tribune

What The Grateful Dead Taught The Indigo Girls

Jul 2, 2015

Their ongoing summer tour will keep Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls from attending the Grateful Dead’s three final farewell shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field this weekend. But the veteran vocal duo cites opening for the Dead at a 1993 University of Oregon stadium concert as a pivotal moment in their career.

“When people ask: ‘What shows do you remember the most?’ that’s always one I talk about,” said Ray, who performs here with Saliers on Sunday at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. (Ticket information appears below.)

“It was just one of those moments where I was like: ‘I can’t believe I’m here!’ They were a great band — and Jerry (Garcia) was there! We learned so much from the whole experience and from the family-style way they run their business. Everything was very welcoming. Dinner (backstage) was this great, celebratory event and everybody was treated equally.

“When we went onstage, it was mind-blowing to see that many people — we didn’t have any idea they would pay attention to us. But the Dead’s audience is so supportive of their opening acts, because they know they’re sanctioned by the Dead. It taught us a lot about how to deal with our own opening acts, and our audiences, and make each concert a complete event. So opening for the Dead taught us a lot on every level. And, musically, we got to watch them play their whole show from the side of the stage, which was amazing.”

Via San Diego Tribune

The 10 best selling vinyl albums of 2015 in the US so far

Jul 2, 2015

The 10 best selling vinyl albums of 2015 in the US so far. Nice to see Taylor at #1 (kids + vinyl = yeah!), and such new up-and-comers like Pink Floyd and Miles Davis still making the chart.

1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (34,000)
After debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, 1989 sold 1.287 million copies during the first week of release. The total U.S. sales figure from the debut week of 1989 was the highest since 2002, and made Swift the first artist to sell one million or more copies of an album in a week-long period for three albums.
2. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell (32,000)
The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200, slightly below the debut of his previous album, Age of Adz, which debuted at #7, selling 36,000 copies in its first week.
3. Arctic Monkeys, AM (27,000)
In the United Kingdom, Arctic Monkeys broke a record with AM, becoming the first independent-label band to debut at number one in the UK with their first five albums.
4. Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color (26,000)
The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart selling 96,000 copies (91,000 copies of traditional album sales) in its first week, in the week ending April 26, 2015, making it the band’s first number one album.
5. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (23,000)
It was first released in 1959. In 2003, the album was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
6. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour (23,000)
As of April 2015, In the Lonely Hour has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
7. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (23,000)
With an estimated 50 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd’s most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack (22,000)
The soundtrack album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart.
9. Father John Misty, I Love You Honeybear (22,000)
Soon after the release of the Sub Pop deluxe LP version in February, 2015, fans and label recognized that the pressing was damaged due to packaging issues which finally caused a warp defect. The label released an official statement, confirming that the first pressing of the deluxe version will no longer be available and that they will press a new version.
10. Hozier, Hozier (21,000)
His performance of “Take Me to Church” with Annie Lennox at the 2015 Grammy Awards is still awesome.

Canadian Music Week Announces 2016 Festival May 4 – 14, Highlights UK and Ireland

Jul 2, 2015

Canadian Music Week , Canada’s Largest New Music Festival and Conference, is pleased to announce the 34th installment in 2016 will take place May 4th -14th, once again bringing conferences, awards, film, comedy and music to the city of Toronto.

For the first time, the industry conference will take place at the beginning of the festival at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel (123 Queen Street West), and will host the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on Thursday, May 5th. The Canadian Radio Music Awards luncheon will take place on Friday, May 6th, followed by one of Canadian Music Week’s most anticipated events, CHUM Fan Fest and finally capping off the weekend with Sirius XM’s annual Indie Awards on Saturday May 7th.

Canadian Music Week takes pride in welcoming international artists and key industry players from around the world, and is thrilled to feature the 2016 International Spotlight will be on the United Kingdom- with a special focus on Ireland. In association with CAAMA, CMW will be hosting labels, booking agents, festival organizers, promoters, talent buyers and industry specialists from the entertainment sectors, opening new trade routes for Canadians who are interested in furthering opportunities with these two key European markets as part of a Spotlight on the UK and Focus on Ireland.